Thursday, March 28, 2013

I just went to a continuing Education class on Fracking put on by an attorney named Lee Chilcote. He is a big fan of Fracking because he stands to make big money. Now I know that 2 hour education course doesn't give me enough information to be an expert on this subject, but it did give me some valuable information that I feel I must share with you.

First of all Fracking isn't like installing an oil drill or a gas well. This is a big operation. It is a relatively new science that is still in its learning stages. Therefore there have been a lot of accidents that have caused irretrievable damage. For one Fracking drill site to be installed they need 640 acres or 2 square miles. What they do is drill down 6000 to 8000 feet vertically. Then they horizontally lazar out around the center in all directions 1 mile. This is done with water,sand and a chemical. Before this class I thought that the checmical was the cause for all these enviromental accidents. What happens when you drill this far down into the earths surface is you bring up radio active gases called radon. We see radon in homes that are built on shale and have a sub pump. This is a gas that can cause lung cancer. The problem with the drilling is this gas is extremely dense in radon. Not like the gas that may leak into your basement. If they drill too far down below the rock surface they can hit earths plates and cause a shift like they saw in Pennsylvannia with earthquakes.

So far the accidents that have ocurred have been down played. A house blew up in Ohio. Ground waters are being contaminated all over the country and earthquakes have ocurred. There are no repairs for these accidents. It is permanent. The pros and cons for fracking turns out to be financial windfall versus our environment. There are very few laws to protect us from Fracking. The CERLA Comprehensive Environmental Response,Compenstion,and Liability Act does not cover fracking.The SDWA Safe Water Drinking Act does not cover fracking! The RCRA The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act does not cover Fracking. CAA Clean Air Act does not cover Fracking! This Fracking business is like the Wild West. Our countries laws are not prepared to protect it people from this industry. The State of New York and Vermont have issued a moratorium until they feel they can safely move forward with this new way to recover fuel gases.

Governer Kasich is running full speed ahead seeing this as the big windfall Ohio needs to pull itself forward. It will be a windfall and it will give a kick to our State but it is short term. If you own land (and this should be what really rocks your boat) you can't say no to fracking. If a company decides that they want your land they will force you through eminent domain. Like I said earlier this is no little operation. If you are faced with this situation you need to have guidance. Being a part of a land owner assoication is a good first step. If you sign the wrong lease they can reek havoc on your land.

Our country is most proud that a person can buy property. Our Constitution states We the people of The United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Sates of America. Fracking doesn't apply here! NO laws, no rights of the people, no protection. We don't have to worry about terrorists anymore we have to worry about big corporations destroying our land for the sake of money.